In one of my classes this week, a classmate of mine was telling us about a challenging situation that had occurred during her field placement a day prior. What struck me most about her story was her incredibly empathetic response to her client.  In a time when many would have been angry at their supervisor for putting them in such a difficult situation, the student was thinking only of the client she was working with – a client who happened to be a drug addicted veteran. My classmate lamented about how much she wanted to help her client and how she wasn’t sure that her agency was capable of providing him all the help he needed and deserved…. “for goodness sake…. he’s a veteran” she ended.  The room fell silent. We were quiet because many of us shared her frustration. We’d seen our clients, our friends, our family members volunteer to fight in our country’s war only to return and struggle to process what that they had been through, struggle to reintegrate into a society of civilians, struggle to gain access to resources that could help them with all their other struggles.

According to Justice for Vets, its estimated that about 20% (about 460,000) of the 2.4 million post 9/11 troops suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or major depression. One in six of the post 9/11 troops will develop a substance abuse problem, many as a way to cope with the symptoms of their PTSD or depression. In some cases, on account of their substance abuse, veterans find themselves in trouble with the law.

Judge Robert Russell noticed this trend as he presided over drug related cases in Buffalo, NY. He saw veterans coming before him in alarming numbers and decided to do something about it.  In January 2008, he established the first Veterans Treatment Court in the country. Now in 2013, there 104 veterans treatment courts following the Buffalo model (including here in New York City), with many others in development.  This model diverts eligible former serviceman to a specialized criminal court docket and provides a much deserved second chance to veterans who have run amiss of the law. The veterans are identified by the court once they enter the system through “evidence- based screening and assessment.” Though it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, generally this means the veteran had no prior record before entering the service, is chemically dependent or mentally ill and demonstrates that they have the capacity to take advantage of the opportunity being presented to them. If they are deemed eligible, veterans must agree to participate in a judicially supervised treatment plan. This is not an easy road. The probation period in veterans court is actually much more strict than they would be subjected to in regular criminal court. It typically lasts two years with a regular court appearances (as often as every two weeks) to check on the veteran’s treatment status. They must submit to regular drug testing as well. Veterans are assigned peer mentors. There are mental health providers from the VA present in court with them to speak to the services they are receiving through the VA. The court is designed to promote recovery and stability by addressing the myriad of problems that led to the veteran’s arrest and linking them with the benefits and services they earned during their time in the military. In this way the court hopes to prevent any future arrests. They have been very successful in this regard.  Arguably, the reason these courts seem to be so effective for veterans is that it provides them again with the structure and accountability they lost when they were discharged from the services. In researching the veterans treatment court, I came across many testimonials from former service members attesting to the success of veterans-only dockets and crediting the court with saving their lives.

    The problem, of course, with veterans treatment court is that it is largely a reactive strategy; we wait until the veteran’s life has already fallen apart before we attempt to intervene. As social workers, we should be at the forefront of services for veterans, providing counseling and helping them to access benefits before they ever meet the criminal justice system. An organization called Give an Hour coordinates social service providers who donate their time for veterans all over the country, you can register at giveanhour.org.  This could serve to be a preventative measure for some veterans who might otherwise end up in the criminal justice system.  In the event that we do come across veterans who would be good candidates for veterans treatment court, we can advocate to have their cases transferred there by pointing them out to the court in our area or calling the lawyer from the district attorney’s office who is prosecuting their case. With a growing number of service men and women returning from war, our social work services will be needed more than ever. We should all join Judge Russell, the treatment courts and my classmates in saying “Thank you for service, now how can we better serve you?”

For more information about veterans treatment court, you can visit Justice for Vets’ website.

OR, check out this recording of the The Diane Rehm Show on NPR discussing Veterans Treatment Court.